After Class Podcast

This week the guys wrap up the discussion on God's Wrath by focusing on the New Testament. Throughout the witness of Scripture we find that God is slow to anger and his wrath breaks out against his people when their actions jeopardize the path of salvation history. But is wrath language used in connection with Jesus and the cross? Was Jesus' death necessary to calm God's wrath?

The series on the sacrificial system continues this week with a discussion of God's Wrath. As the guys look closely at God's character, his interactions with his people, and his presumed need for violence/bloodshed - you might be surprised by what they find - and what they don't find.

As the guys continue to look at sacrifice and the larger issue of God's nature requiring violence and the shedding of blood they focus on the Day of Atonement this week. They explore the various uses of "kaphar" in the Old Testament, of which "atoning for sin" is only one of seven. They also look carefully at the Day of Atonement in Leviticus and discuss what was and was not accomplished in that ceremony.

The guys continue the discussion on the sacrificial system as they drive towards answering the question - why did God have Jesus die on the cross - is Jesus's death just an extension of God's violent nature that needed to be poured out? In this episode they explore the seven purposes for animal sacrifice as commanded in Torah; you might be surprised by what is NOT mentioned.

This week the guys start a series on the topic of sacrifice. Is the entire sacrificial system evidence that God's wrath requires blood, death, and violence? They begin to form an answer to this issue by exploring the sacrificial customs of the Ancient Near East.

You've probably heard or seen something about the recent "defund the police" movement. This week the guys offer a biblical perspective on the Church's response to the cultural/political upheaval we are all experiencing. How should Christians respond to the powers and principalities at play in the world around us? What does a kingdom-centered posture look like?

In this episode they guys reflect on the charged racial climate stemming from the deaths of multiple people of color, most notably George Floyd. Not wanting to be a bunch of white guys lecturing anyone about what should be done, they reflect on the ideals of the Kingdom that should be lived out in the church.

The guys give an update on what they've been up to over the past several weeks of quarantine. They land on a discussion of how the Church is handling the Covid-19 situation and how important it is to choose the path of unity no matter what. The Church has the opportunity to show the world something really rare: true unity. Romans 14; 1 Corinthians 8-10

This week the guys move on to engage another listener-posed issue: the hurdle of the conquest is still too high, surely God could have done more to mitigate the loss of life and the displacement of the Canaanites. These are important questions for all Christians to ask - it is right to wrestle with the constancy of God's character as revealed in Scripture. But it's crucial to understand - the radical social ethic of Torah was not possible without the Israelites having untainted, soul possession of the land.

The guys engage tough listener questions about Old Testament violence, like "Aren't you just sugarcoating genocide?" They also explore how modern political and geo-political biases tend to influence our interpretation of tough biblical passages. Is there a right or left leaning way of reading Joshua? Do we sometimes project our understanding of the modern day Israeli-Palestinian conflict back onto the book of Joshua? Are we so far away from the Holocaust that we are beginning to forget some important lessons about how to speak about the Jewish people's role in Scripture?